Afghan aid 'lost to consultants and corruption'

By Tom Coghlan in Kabul

12:01AM GMT 25 Mar 2008

Nearly half the £7.5 billion given by Britain, the US and other countries to rebuild Afghanistan since 2001 has been spent on consultants and contractors, according to a report by aid agencies released today.

The report by the Agency Co-ordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), which represents 94 aid agencies, reveals staggering levels of inefficiency and waste within both the international aid effort and the Afghan government.

The report's author, Matt Waldman, from Oxfam, estimates that £3 billion, about 40 per cent of the total given, has been spent on consultants, mostly private security contractors.

The same sum would fund the entire Afghan education budget for the next 20 years.

The report also warns of the danger of corruption, claiming that Afghan officials have no records of how £2.5 billion was spent.

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Many of the nations that pledged money after the fall of the Taliban have failed to deliver, with the report finding a £5 billion shortfall in the money pledged.

Some nations such as the US, UK, Japan, Germany and Canada have made major donations.

But other wealthy western nations are accused of having made "scant" financial contribution. France (£40 million) and Spain (£13 million) are highlighted as having been notably miserly.

British officials say Britain has spent £490 million specifically on reconstruction, with a further £109 million in the coming year.

The British government also insists that 80 per cent of its aid goes through the Afghan government so that it will be capable of managing its own affairs in the future.

However, a prominent Afghan MP, Shukria Barakzai claimed: "This report is wrong, the situation is worse than this. In every dollar only 11 cents is going to Afghans. The rest is returning to the West."

Among thousands of refugees displaced by fighting in Helmand and camped on the edge of the capital Lashkargar, this week, the Telegraph found deep pessimism.

"Some NGOs are working really hard, but they are only helping a few people," said one man named Rahmatullah. "Don't mention President [Hamid] Karzai. We hate him. Every Afghan should be a millionaire, but where is the money?"